Receiving Dental Care: An Overview on Dealing With Dentures

Balancing your teeth’s formation is necessary to make sure that you can perform essential functions, such as speaking and eating, without experiencing any complications. However, losing your teeth due to old age, physical trauma, or dental conditions will require you to get fixed up with dentures.

Differentiating full and partial dentures

Your dentist will perform a dental examination of your remaining teeth to determine your oral health and check if your teeth will need to be removed. They will then decide if you will need partial or full dentures.

If you are advised to get full dentures, all your teeth will need to come out. This gives the gums enough time to heal and shrink back to their permanent shape for proper fitting. Each person has a different waiting period, depending on how their mouth’s structure is and the number of teeth that had to be removed.

Partial dentures will only require the removal of some teeth, depending on what the patient needs. The waiting time for recovery is usually between four and six weeks.

Fitting your dentures

Initial fitting is when the patient receives a mold that will be placed in your mouth. The dentist will then make adjustments to ensure that you’re comfortable with the dentures by seeing if it provides a natural fit.

Additional appointments will often be required to fine-tune the shape of your dentures. Some clinics provide immediate dentures for use while adjustments are being made to your permanent dentures. They are usually made from a wax impression from the original mold. The precise changes to your dentures will require several weeks to complete throughout multiple sessions.

Adapting to your dentures

People who wear dentures for the first time may find it difficult to chew or speak. Some side effects also include minor soreness, irritation, and an increase in saliva production. Thankfully enough, your body will not take long in adjusting to the presence of the dentures.

You can still perform different activities and exercise to help your body adjust to your permanent dentures. To improve your chewing, you can start with soft food, such as eggs, cheese, pudding, and cooked vegetables. Keep in mind that you should chew slowly with small bites and avoid biting down with your front teeth. It will take a while before you can adjust to food with harder textures like meat and steaks.

Maintaining your dentures

For maintaining your dentures, you’re required to clean them regularly to make sure that you won’t experience infections. At the same time, remember to soak them in water and brush them firmly at least once a day or after every meal. Make sure that you use the right cleaning products, such as non-abrasive toothpaste, to maintain the durability of your dentures.

Conclusion

Getting your first pair of dentures is necessary for dealing with missing teeth. If you’re wondering whether you’ll need full or partial dentures, this will depend on your oral needs and your dentists’ advice. Although the process will require you to go through numerous fitting sessions and dental appointments, getting past these steps will help you in maintaining your dental health.

Dental House is the leading dentistry service in Ann Arbor. We provide affordable dentistry services from wisdom tooth extractions to dental examinations. Get in touch with us today to know more about our different treatments for your oral hygiene needs!